Various fluid mixing devices and methods for using such devices have been developed for mixing two or more fluids. One such device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,799, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, involves mixing a viscous caulking compound with colorant using a mixer shaft that is reciprocated for mixing. Another related U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,318, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, also involves mixing a viscous caulking compound with colorant using a rotatable mixer shaft that is rotated and reciprocated for mixing. However, these techniques require at least the reciprocation of a mixing shaft having a blade to accomplish the mixing.
Many other types of applications require the mixing of two or more fluids to accomplish the formation of a desired mixture such as the mixing of two fluids to form epoxy (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,737, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), the mixing of two fluids to form rubber cement (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,233, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), and the mixing of two or more fluids to form a polymeric sealant (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,148, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,335, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, more broadly describes a method and a container for mixing multi-component polymer coatings and adhesives using two or more sealed pouches in a mixing container.
None of these references briefly discussed above describe a simple apparatus or method for mixing two or more fluids in an apparatus that requires no reciprocating or rotating mixing action and whereby the mixture may be accurately dispensed substantially while mixing is taking place.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple mixing apparatus that requires no back and forth reciprocating motion and no rotating motion to accomplish the mixing of two or more fluids. What is also needed is a simple mixing apparatus that is capable of accurately dispensing a mixture substantially while two or more fluids are being mixed in the apparatus to form the mixture.